Activision has decided to infuse Call of Duty: Black Ops 2 with something it likes to call Micro Items, which will grant gamers the ability to spend some bucks so as to receive customization items. These will be made available today only through Xbox Live, but there are plans to bring them onto other platforms as well. Besides, Xbox 360 owners will also get to download the Nuketown 2025 map for free, while Nuketown Zombies map will start being sold to them too.
This news about Call of Duty: Black Ops 2 getting micro-transactions comes hot on the heels of gamers’ outrage about the little money-earning mechanic seeming to be on an all-time high. EA’s addition of such a tool into Dead Space 3 without officially announcing it wasn’t viewed with much respect by players. And now, with Activision getting into the act as well, it remains to be seen how fan reaction shapes up following this development.
Dubbed Micro Items, they will be sold in a completely optional manner, and will not affect gameplay in anyway, the company’s One of Swords blog has clarified. They will contain Personalization Packs, one example of which is the Bacon Personalization Pack which puts up a bacon skin on players’ weapons. It will cost 160 Microsoft Points. Then there’s even the Extra Slots Pack which will comprise of 10 Create-a-Class sets as well as an expansion facility for media storage, thus enabling gamers to archive 20 more emblems, 32 additional films and 40 new screenshots. It will be placed at 160 Microsoft Points.
On the other hand, the Flags of the World Calling Card Packs include national flag-themed Calling Cards from countries around the globe. Divided by geographical regions, each of them costs 80 Microsoft Points. And while the Nuketown 2025 map will be dished out for free, Nuketown Zombies will be purchasable at 400 Microsoft Points. The former was earlier an exclusive to pre-order customers of the game, whereas the latter was a component of Hardened and Care Package limited editions.
All these changes are to set to make their way into Call of Duty: Black Ops 2 today. But it should be noted that they apply only to the Xbox 360 version, and owners of other platforms will have to wait for a while to get them.